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authorities is needed,” warned OMV Petrom The dividend would result in a dividend
CEO Christina Verchere on February 3 while yield of 7% based on the current price of
North Macedonia to unveiling the 2021 financial results. OMV Petrom shares.
The dividend yield delivered by OMV
The Liberal (PNL) minority government
launch construction of gas in 2020 avoided amending the Offshore Petrom to investors was 6.55% in 2021 (paid
out of 2020 FY profit), 8.49% in 2020 and
Law, fearing that the Social Democrats
interconnector with Greece in might amend it in an uncontrolled way in 7.11% in 2019.
Parliament. However, in the meantime,
Group’s sales revenues in 2021 rose by
1Q22 the Social Democrats became the senior nearly one-third y/y (+32%) to just over
ruling party and their position vis-a-vis the
RON26.0bn, which is only a mere 2.6%
North Macedonia plans to launch the Offshore law is largely unpredictable. above the 2019 revenues.
construction of a gas interconnector with The most important element that changed Petrom’s sales revenue in 2021 were
Greece, which will connect the country with since 2018 – when the latest version of indeed the highest since 2012, when the
the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), in the the Offshore Law was endorsed – is the company reported RON26.2bn revenue and
first quarter of the year, Economy Minister skyrocketing natural gas energy price, which, a net profit of RON4bn (€0.9bn)
Kreshnik Bekteshi was cited as saying by among other reasons, has pushed up OMV Operationally, OMV Petrom’s total
Azerbaijani news agency Trend on February Petrom’s profit – as well as the value of the hydrocarbon production plunged by 11% y/y
4. 48-84bn cubic metres of natural gas to be in 2021, after the 5% y/y contraction in 2020,
Bekteshi made the remarks at the plenary extracted from Neptun Deep offshore by to 129.4 kboe/d in 2021 from 151.6 kboe/d
session held as part of the 8th Ministerial the Austrian group in partnership with the in 2019.
Meeting within the Southern Gas Corridor Romanian state company Romgaz. The production decreased mainly due to
Advisory Council held in Baku. The way the royalties are calculated (based the divestment of production assets from
“Activities are underway for further on the Baumgarten price as opposed to Kazakhstan in Q2/21 and a high natural
construction of the existing gas pipeline realised price) complicates the taxation as decline in the main fields in Romania.
system in North Macedonia. In the first well. The oil companies have objected to this In downstream, the refineries returned to
quarter of this year, it is planned to start in the past but not that much recently, as 97% utilisation rate (4.97mn tonnes crude
construction of the interconnector for gas the domestic price has converged with the refined), the same as in 2019 before the crisis,
connection with Greece, which will connect Baumgarten benchmark. But this detail is not after temporarily dropping to 92% in 2020.
North Macedonia with the Southern Gas part of the Offshore Law – the reference price Besides the stronger demand, the
Corridor,” Bekteshi was cited as saying. for royalties is set by the mineral resources technical outage of rival refinery Rompetrol
He said that the authorities are working agency NAMR. Rafinare helped this.
on completing the project for construction The new circumstances indeed require But the amounts of gas sold dropped in
of a gas interconnector with Serbia and also a new Offshore Law and amending the line with the group’s output (-14% in 2021).
plans the construction of interconnectors way the royalties are calculated. But it is Electricity generation gained momentum on
with Bulgaria and Albania. unsure whether the ruling coalition formed favourable market conditions to 4.79TWh
The gas interconnector with Greece is a by Liberals (PSD) and Social Democrats (+15% y/y) from 3.40TWh in 2019.
project supported by the EU and bilateral (PSD) has the political consistency and the Power generation reached 1.17 TWh
donors to the Western Balkans, and will technical skills to negotiate a new and fair in Q4/20, representing 11% in Romania’s
help North Macedonia to ensure security of Offshore Law. generation mix, the highest production share
gas supply and liquidity on the gas market, so far.
as well as to provide access to natural gas
through the SGC. OMV Petrom’s profit doubles
The interconnector that will be built Spain allows Morocco to use
between the villages of Bogorodica and in 2021, yet stays below pre-
Stojakovo will represent another delivery Maghreb-Europe Pipeline to
point for natural gas besides the existing one crisis mark
that brings gas from Russia via Bulgaria.. import LNG
OMV Petrom energy group reported
for 2021 a net income attributable to Morocco intends to use Spanish facilities
OMV Petrom insists it won’t stockholders 122% larger compared to 2020, to secure liquefied natural gas (LNG)
namely RON2.86bln (€578mn), according to
imports, Bloomberg reports.
begin offshore extraction in the company’s quarterly report released on Madrid finally gave the green light to
After more than two months of talks,
February 3.
Romania unless taxes are cut reported in 2019, which was the last year the project, allowing Morocco to use the
This is still 21% behind the earnings
Maghreb-Europe Pipeline to purchase
“The taxation regime for gas production before the crisis. The company’s shares natural gas from international markets.
in Romania has become even more dropped by 1.75% on the day the Q4 and Morocco, which lacks sufficient
uncompetitive, significantly above the 2021 results were reported. In year-on-year infrastructure for the process, will deliver
European average. This puts pressure on terms, the price of its shares was nearly the LNG to Spain by cargo and then receive
investments in Romania, endangering the 14% up. The company;’s capitalisation the reconstituted gas back across the
supply [of local consumers] from domestic was RON27bn (€5.4bn) at the end of the Mediterranean through the Maghreb gas
natural gas production. Not amending the February 3 trading day. pipeline. The plan depends on a trade co-
[2018] Offshore Law leads to the delay of the The company’s management proposed a operation agreement between Morocco and
final decision to invest in Neptun Deep [for dividend of RON0.0341 per share for the Spanish operator Enagas.
beginning production] until 2023. In order 2021 financial year, which is a 10% y/y The government opened a bid for LNG
for Romania to benefit from its natural gas increase, at the high end of the 5-10% range traders and intends to sign a 5-year contract
resources, the urgent intervention of the stated in the dividend guidance. for the deal, said Leila Benali, Energy

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